Workshops and Concert in Peebles, Scotland

Violinist Rowan Bell makes a welcome return to his native Peebles, this time as leader of the London-based Santiago Quartet. The Quartet is joined by Julian Rowlands, ‘one of the UK’s few genuinely accomplished players of the bandoneon [an Argentinian form of accordion]’ (Venue magazine).

Of course, it is the spirit of the Tango that pervades the concert, from three traditional tango tunes to the Nuevo Tango of Astor Piazzolla, exclusively arranged for string quartet and bandoneon, echoing the haunting sound of the composer's own quintet.

The quartet alone plays the Birthday Quartet, commissioned from Will Todd and described as ‘complex, approachable, moving and attractive’.

The concert ends with Piazzolla’s soulfully descriptive evocation of the changing seasons in the Argentine capital.